Asian Gourmet, Glasgow

YOU'VE got too much food, the waiter says as he scribbles down the last dish of the order. Prawn in salted egg yolk, since you ask. My eye had accidentally bumped into it whilst grazing the menu in full random-ordering mode and I thought, I'll try that, too. His head is shaking but he’s smiling as he says it.

I smile straight back knowing full well he is right, and that we both also secretly know I’ve already single-handedly polished off two dishes of those addictive zingy, zesty beansprouts doused in vinegar and chilli they hand out free here. Very, ahem, light.

Then there’s the small matter of a second pot of complimentary green tea on the way. Aids the digestion. What he says about the bloater at table nine when he goes back into the little serving area I can only guess, but through the square hatch I see much head movement and a few “aahs” coming my way. Well, that’s the way we roll in the fat food critic business. Rolling as in literally.

It turns out I’ll be half way through a gigantic sharing platter – that means for six Chinese people, two Westerners or one food critic – of stir fried celery with cashew nuts before the prawn platter and a whole double colour seabass touchdown. That celery and cashew with the faintest, tantalising hint of celery juices, the crunch of those nuts, is so delicious it’s very hard to stop eating.

My pal Lozza is also here, but she doesn’t seem to be having much and her pal Jane is on the way, but she isn’t actually physically here, so one must press on.

Shredded potato with Chinese leeks? No? Just me then.

It’s about five years since I last came down those outside stairs and turned into the basement restaurant that is Asian Gourmet to review it. It’s off the beaten track and round the corner from Malaysian food success Asia Style, which interestingly seems to be in the process of changing its name. What’s happening there?

Back, then, anyway Asian Gourmet was an edgy late night place, mobbed from midnight as the Chinese community left jobs and casinos and popped in for something to eat. Slack and sleepy earlier, as it waited for something to happen. Tonight it’s quite busy early on. It’s been freshened, tiled I think, though thankfully not excessively Westernised. The toilets, certainly, are still are a bit edgy.

There’s now an easy to follow English menu that still has those startling literal translations such as “boiled beef curd and other stuff” or “lamb spine hot pot”.

Incidentally, earlier the waiter had said by way of a dire warning: “Has bones, has bones,” when I ordered the double colour seabass. Pah, or Mwah, I thought. Or was it harrumph? I forget.

Obviously, I expertly fillet this spectacular-looking whole steamed fish, take chunks of moist white meat, waver over whether to try the green chilli sauce or the red chilli sauce first, go for the red, taste…and splutter and spit a mouthful of bones into a handkerchief. Not very discreetly. Then sit back while my mouth slowly catches fire. Try again. Better luck with both the filleting and the fieriness on the second pass. The green chillies are hardly benign but they are easily bearable. Have flavour.

Forkfuls of shredded potato and leek follow, not quite as sensational as the celery – maybe I’ll go for the potato, aubergine and red pepper next time – but still vegetables as you’ve rarely had them before.

There is, of course, that platter of prawn in salted egg yolk awaiting. Too late I remember that the pumpkin cooked the same way was even better last time. The egg yolk batter, these are deep fried, is as crisp, and rich and crunchy as it should be. On their own with one of those vegetable dishes they would be more than enough for an excellent meal. But you, OK, everyone probably knew that already.

Asian Gourmet

17 West Princes Street

Glasgow

0141 332 1639

Menu: Proper hardcore Chinese restaurant with some challenging dishes but studded with gems like the egg-yolk prawn and pumpkin, cashew celery, and those weirdly delicious bean sprouts. 5/5

Atmosphere: Probably not Asian Gourmet’s strong point though much better than it used to be. Traditional, pretty plain. Go for the food and let the dishes add the sparkle. 3/5

Service: Very friendly and helpful but for obvious reasons anxious to point out that generally this can be slightly different than the average Chinese restaurant. 4/5

Price: As is normal in authentic Chinese restaurants dishes are served in platters for at least two and at around £7 a dish they are excellent value. Fresh fish dearer. 4/5

Food: Is this Glasgow’s best Chinese restaurant? Possibly. You could dine sumptuously

on the vegetable dishes alone, but why miss out on the other exciting flavours? 8/10

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